Sunday, November 18, 2012

Arms Race Update - Asia Goes for Its Guns

Why Peter MacKay believes Asia needs a substantial and permanent Canadian military presence is tough to figure out. Does Elmer's backward boy think the Asians are somehow lacking in firepower and need Canada to top up their capacity for mayhem?

Indonesia is stocking up on South Korean subs, Chinese and American radar systems. Vietnam is filling Russia's coffers with orders for subs and jets and has bought Israeli ballistic missiles. Gee whiz.

Singapore, like everyone else, is also investing in submarines and the latest Swedish warplanes with highly effective anti-ship missiles.

86 more subs are expected to be sailing in Asian waters by 2020, 30 of which will be Chinese. So what exactly do they need from us, Pete? Hell, their submarines are going to be better and newer than those old Brit hulks we're finally pressing into service.

They don't need us Pete. If they do, they'll ask. So why don't we wait until they can give us a convincing reason why we should be there?

Flush
with economic success and wary of China's military expansion, countries
are acquiring sophisticated sea- and air-based arsenals that include
dozens of submarines that can operate in secret.
The institute said Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia had
increased defence budgets by 66 per cent to 82 per cent from 2002 to
last year.

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Indonesia was buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar
systems from China and the US, Vietnam was getting submarines and combat
jets from Russia and had acquired Israeli ballistic missiles, defence
analysts said.
Vietnam's defence budget for this year is $US3.1 billion, a rise of 35
per cent over last year. The Philippines has a huge wish-list of
equipment it wants from the US and is also approaching Japan, South
Korea, France and Britain for defence acquisitions.
Singapore, already the fifth-largest weapons importing nation, looked
like keeping its title as the region's biggest spender, allocating
$US9.7 billion this year on defence, 24 per cent of its national
budget. The city-state's purchases included combat jets from the US and
submarines from Sweden.
Thailand was planning to buy submarines and warplanes from Sweden that
would eventually be fitted with anti-ship missiles, while arms
deliveries to Malaysia jumped eightfold over the five years to 2009.

Flush
with economic success and wary of China's military expansion, countries
are acquiring sophisticated sea- and air-based arsenals that include
dozens of submarines that can operate in secret.
The institute said Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia had
increased defence budgets by 66 per cent to 82 per cent from 2002 to
last year.

Advertisement

Indonesia was buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar
systems from China and the US, Vietnam was getting submarines and combat
jets from Russia and had acquired Israeli ballistic missiles, defence
analysts said.
Vietnam's defence budget for this year is $US3.1 billion, a rise of 35
per cent over last year. The Philippines has a huge wish-list of
equipment it wants from the US and is also approaching Japan, South
Korea, France and Britain for defence acquisitions.
Singapore, already the fifth-largest weapons importing nation, looked
like keeping its title as the region's biggest spender, allocating
$US9.7 billion this year on defence, 24 per cent of its national
budget. The city-state's purchases included combat jets from the US and
submarines from Sweden.
Thailand was planning to buy submarines and warplanes from Sweden that
would eventually be fitted with anti-ship missiles, while arms
deliveries to Malaysia jumped eightfold over the five years to 2009.